Jin chortled. “So, Honey, you make a lot of Keurig coffee then?”
She shook her head. “Hot chocolate.”
“Ooh. Can I have hot chocolate instead?” Jin’s eyes had grown round, and he looked like a little boy now.
She laughed. “Of course. As long as you think you won’t overdose on sugar.”
“Never!” he announced dramatically, making Ashley laugh again.
“My house is just around the corner,” she asserted a few moments later.
She prayed fervently that her brother wasn’t at home. She breathed a sigh of relief after opening the door and peeking into the house. No sign of the rascal.
“Come on in, Jin,” she invited her friend across the threshold and led him towards the kitchen. Her ears were attuned to the slightest unwelcome noise. But her brother failed to appear.
“Ah, the exalted Keurig machine,” Jin breathed as a smile crowned his lips a few seconds later.
Ashley giggled. Jin truly was as much fun as she’d always imagined him to be.
She grabbed a coffee cup from the cupboard and carried it over to the machine. After placing it on the platform, she set a little hot cocoa pod inside the machine, lowered the lid, and hit the button. A few seconds later, she handed Jin a steaming cup of hot chocolate.
He smiled at her. As she began to make herself a cup, she teased him. “Are you going to tip me?” She glanced away from him to place her own pod in the machine before turning towards him after she closed the lid and pushed the button.
His gaze turning oddly sober, Jin responded smoothly, “But of course.”
Right before he leaned down and brushed a kiss across her cheek.
Ashley stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes wide open. Her skin on fire. Her breath caught somewhere between her lungs and her throat.
Jin simply stood up straight and took a sip of his hot cocoa.
While Ashley struggled to breathe.
She could hear the stream of her steaming chocolate hitting the inside of her mug. But she no longer cared one whit about that delightful beverage. Every thought in her head – and every cell of her body – was now trained on the man standing before her. She stared at his chest. Clad in that gray sweatshirt. And willed her eyes to find his own. Still, it took her nearly a full minute to work up the courage to meet his gaze. When she finally did, she found him glancing at the clock to her left.
He grimaced. “I should probably get going.”
“Why?” she burst out, without thinking.
That drew his gaze back to her own.
“I mean,” she babbled, “aren’t you here alone?”
“Well, not entirely alone,” he admitted.
“You’re not?”
He shook his head. “I brought a bodyguard with me. But I encouraged him to take a couple hours off this evening while I napped. Then I…snuck away. By myself,” he grinned. “If I’m gone too long, he’ll be worried. I need to get back before he notices I’m missing.”
Ashley frowned at him. “But…why did you bring him if you weren’t going to stay with him?”
“After we arrived here, I realized how small this town is. And how unlikely it was that I’d need protecting. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would recognize me.”
“Is that why you talked to me?” She blinked up at him.
One side of his beautiful mouth tilted upward. “I suppose that was foolish of me. But you looked so…disheartened. I just wanted to cheer you up.” He sobered. “Now I understand why you felt that way. Nobody should spend their birthday alone.”
Ashley sighed. It looked like she was going to spend the rest of this evening alone anyway. She tried to cover her disappointment. “Thanks for sharing your fries with me. And for walking me home.”
“Thanks for sharing your cake with me. And your gravy,” he grinned. “And hot cocoa.” He lifted his mug before taking another sip. “What are you going to do tonight?”
She shrugged. “I dunno. Probably chat online with my friends. While I eat ice cream.” She tossed a grin at him. “Assuming we have some.”
She pushed herself away from the counter and crossed the room to search the freezer. But a disgruntled frown settled on her lips as she came up empty. “Ugh. We’re all out.”
A concerned scowl crossed his face. “It’s your birthday, yet you have no ice cream? How can this be?”
“Very easily in this house, unfortunately.”
Jin’s brow buckled. “What do you mean?”
“My brother has struck again. He eats anything that isn’t nailed down. And that would only stop him because he’s too lazy to put forth any effort whatsoever for anything he wants.”
At least, he wasn’t here now. Interrupting this conversation. Or embarrassing Jin.
“This won’t do,” Jin asserted firmly.
“What won’t do?” Ashley queried, confused.
“You can’t have a birthday without ice cream. I mean I already ate half your cake. The least I can do is buy you an ice cream. Is there somewhere nearby we can get some?”
She smiled at him sweetly. “Jin, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to do that.”
“What about your bodyguard?”
He shrugged. “I’ll just text him. Give me a sec.” After a minute or so, he glanced up at her. “We’re all set. Shall we go track down a polar bear?”
“A polar bear?” Ashley’s brow furrowed adorably.
Jin nodded. “In pursuit of his favorite dessert. Ice cream.”
She smiled. “Ah, yes. I wonder what his favorite flavor is.”
“That’s easy. Straw-bear-y.”
“I think his girlfriend prefers Blue-bear-y Cheesecake.”
“Does she now?” Jin eyed her carefully. “His girlfriend, eh?”
